    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [November 1, 2004]
    [Pages 2895-2900]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Wilmington, Ohio
    November 1, 2004

        The President. Thank you all for coming today. There's nothing like
    an early morning rally in the great State of Ohio. I can't think of a
    better place to kick off the last day of this campaign than with the
    good folks here in Ohio. I want to thank you for coming. Thank you for
    your support. With your help, we will carry this great State and win
    tomorrow.
        I'm here to ask for your help. You get your friends and neighbors to
    go to the polls. Find our fellow Republicans, wise independents, and
    discerning Democrats, and tell them, if they want a safer America and a
    stronger America and a better America, to put me and Dick Cheney back in office.
        Perhaps the most important reason why people ought to put me back in
    is so that Laura is the First Lady for 4 more
    years.
        I'm proud of my runningmate, Dick Cheney.
    You know, he doesn't have the waviest hair in the race. [Laughter]
    You'll be pleased to hear I didn't pick him because of his hairdo.
    [Laughter] I picked him because he can get the job done. I picked him
    because of his experience. I picked him because of his judgment.
        I'm proud to be traveling today with Curt Schilling. Everybody knows him as a great pitcher. I know him as a
    great husband, a great dad, and a man of great character. He's a
    champion on the field, and he's a champion off the field. And like me,
    he married well, and I'm proud that Shonda
    is with us today too. Thank you all for coming. Appreciate you being
    here.
        I'm proud to be here with Michael DeWine and
    his wife, Fran, the Senator from the great State of Ohio. I'm asking you
    to make sure you vote for George Voinovich for United States Senator. I want to thank Congressman
    Mike Turner for being here and his wife,
    Lori.
        I want to thank your Governor, Bob Taft, and
    your Lieutenant Governor, Jennette Bradley, for coming today. Thank you all for coming. I want to
    thank all the State and local officials.
        I want to thank the entertainment, the Wil Gravatt Band and the Wilmington, East Clinton, Blanchester, and
    Clinton-Massie High School marching bands. I will try to keep my remarks
    short so you can make sure you study before class starts. [Laughter]
        I'm here with a message for the people of Ohio. I know the economy
    of this State has been through a lot, but we are moving in the right
    direction. And to do so, we've got to keep your taxes low. And I want
    you to remind your friends and neighbors that my opponent will raise the taxes on Ohio's families and Ohio's small
    businesses.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. In a new term, I will put pro-growth--keep pro-
    growth, pro-small-business, pro-farmer policies in place. I will defend
    your deepest values, and I will work every day to make sure your
    families are

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    safe. And you can count on me. I'm asking for your help, and there is no
    doubt in my mind, with your help, we will win Ohio again and win a great
    victory tomorrow.
        The election takes place in a time of great consequence. The person
    who sits in the Oval Office for the next 4 years will set the course of
    the war on terror and the direction of our economy. America will need
    strong, determined, optimistic leadership, and I am ready for the job
    ahead.
        The American President must lead with clarity and purpose. As
    Presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt to Reagan so clearly demonstrated,
    a President must not shift with the wind. A President has to make the
    tough decisions and stand by them. The role of the President is not to
    follow the latest polls. The role of the President is to lead based on
    principle and conviction and conscience.
        During these 4 years, I've learned that whatever your strengths are,
    you are going to need them, and whatever your shortcomings are, the
    people will notice them. Sometimes I am a little too blunt. I get that
    from my mother. [Laughter] Sometimes I mangle
    the English language. I get that from my father. [Laughter] But all the time, whether you agree with me
    or not, you know where I stand, what I believe, and what I intend to do.
        This election comes down to five clear choices for America's
    families. The first clear choice concerns your family's budget. When I
    ran for President 4 years ago, I pledged to lower taxes for America's
    families. I have kept my word. We've doubled the child credit. We
    reduced the marriage penalty. We believe the Tax Code ought to
    encourage, not penalize marriage. We dropped the lowest tax bracket to
    10 percent. We reduced taxes on everybody who pays taxes. And as a
    result of these good policies, our economy is growing at faster rates
    than any in nearly 20 years. Real after-tax income is up by 10 percent,
    and that's good for America's families. Homeownership rate in America is
    at an alltime high. More minority families own a home today than ever
    before in our Nation's history.
        Ohio's farmers are making a living. The entrepreneurial spirit is
    strong in America. Small businesses are flourishing all across your
    State. We've added 1.9 million jobs--new jobs in the last 13 months. The
    unemployment rate across this country is 5.4 percent. That's lower than
    the average rate of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s.
        There have been some tough times in Ohio, but last month alone, we
    added 5,500 jobs. The unemployment rate has dropped from 6.3 percent to
    6 percent in this State. This economy is strong, and it is getting
    stronger.
        My opponent has got an economic plan. He's
    been in the United States Senate for 20 years, and he's voted to raise
    taxes 98 times. That's five times every year in the Senate. That's what
    I would call a leading indicator, a predictable pattern. Plus, he's
    promised about $2.2 trillion in new Federal spending. That is trillion
    with a ``T.'' That is a lot. That's a lot even for a Senator from
    Massachusetts.
        So they said, ``How are you going to pay for it?'' He said, ``Well, we'll just tax the rich.'' But that leaves a
    tax gap. See, you can only raise between 600 and 800 billion. That's far
    short of the 2.2 trillion he promised. Given his record, guess who's
    going to have to fill the tax gap? You are. But the good news is he's
    not going to tax you because we're going to carry Ohio and win tomorrow.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. The second clear choice in this election involves the
    quality of life for our Nation's families. I ran for President to
    challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations by reforming our public
    schools. I kept my word. We passed education reforms, good, solid
    education reforms to bring high standards to our classrooms. Math and
    reading scores are now

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    up in America. We're closing an achievement gap by helping our minority
    children. My vision for a new term is to build on these reforms, extend
    them to our high schools so no child is left behind in America.
        We'll continue to improve life for our families by making health
    care more affordable and available. We'll expand health savings
    accounts. We'll allow small businesses to join together so they can buy
    insurance at the same discount that big companies are able to do.
        We'll help our families in need. And we'll help our families and
    patients and doctors by getting rid of the frivolous and junk lawsuits
    that run up the cost of health care. This is an issue in this campaign.
    My opponent voted against medical liability
    reform not once, not twice, but 10 times. He put a personal-injury trial
    lawyer on the ticket.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. I'm standing with the families of Ohio. I'm standing
    with the docs of Ohio. I am for medical liability reform--now. In all we
    do to improve health care, we will make sure the decisions are made by
    doctors and patients, not by officials in Washington, DC.
        My opponent has a different approach. He
    voted for education reform, and now he wants to weaken the
    accountability standards. He's proposing a big-Government health care
    plan. I remember that debate when he looked square in the camera when
    they asked him about his health care plan. He said, ``The Government
    didn't have anything to do with it.'' I could barely contain myself.
    [Laughter] The Government has got a lot to do with it. Eighty percent of
    the people would end up on a Government program. The wrong prescription
    for American families is to federalize your health care.
        The third clear choice in this election involves your retirement.
    Our Nation has made a solemn commitment to America's seniors on Social
    Security and Medicare. When I ran for President 4 years ago, I promised
    to keep that commitment and improve Medicare by adding prescription
    drugs for our seniors. I have kept my word. Seniors are getting
    discounts on medicine with their drug discount cards, and beginning in
    2006, all seniors will be able to get prescription drug coverage under
    Medicare.
        When you're out gathering up the vote, remind people my
    opponent has got a record on this issue. He
    voted against the Medicare bill that included prescription drug
    coverage. He's trying to scare our seniors in this campaign. That's an
    old, tired practice. But as he does so, I want you to tell your friends
    and neighbors, he's the one that voted to tax Social Security benefits
    eight times. We'll keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors.
    We will always keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors.
        But we need to worry about our children and our grandchildren when
    it comes to the Social Security system. Baby boomers like me are in fine
    shape when it comes to the Social Security trust. I see a couple of
    others out there too. [Laughter] But the job of a President is to
    confront problems, not to pass them on to future generations. And that's
    why I'll bring people together to make sure we strengthen the Social
    Security system for generations to come.
        Fourth clear choice in this election is on the values that are
    crucial for our families. I stand for marriage and family, which are the
    foundations of our society. I stand for a culture of life in which every
    person matters and every being counts. I proudly signed the ban on
    partial-birth abortion. I stand for the appointment of Federal judges
    who know the difference between personal opinion and the strict
    interpretation of the law.
        We have a difference of opinion on these issues. My opponent voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion. He
    voted against the Defense of Marriage Act. There is a

    [[Page 2898]]

    mainstream in American politics, and Senator John Kerry sits on the far
    left bank. [Laughter] He can run from that liberal record, but he cannot
    hide.
        The final choice in this election is the most important of all
    because it concerns the security of your family. All progress on every
    other issue depends on the safety of our citizens. The most solemn duty
    of the American President is to protect the American people. If this
    country of ours shows any uncertainty or weakness during these troubling
    times, the world will drift toward tragedy. This is not going to happen
    on my watch.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Our strategy is clear. We have strengthened the
    protections for our homeland. We are reforming and strengthening our
    intelligence capabilities. We are transforming the great United States
    military. There will be no draft. We will keep the All-Volunteer Army an
    all-volunteer army. We are relentless, and we are determined. We are
    staying on the offensive. We will chase the terrorists overseas so we do
    not have to face them here at home.
        The 9/11 Commission report said America is safer but not yet safe.
    We're making progress. Afghanistan is an ally in the war on terror.
    Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are making raids and capturing terrorist
    leaders. Lybia is dismantling its weapons programs. The army of a free
    Iraq is fighting for freedom. Al Qaida no longer controls Afghanistan.
    We've shut down their camps. We are systematically destroying the Al
    Qaida network across the world. More than three-quarters of its key
    leaders and associates have been brought to justice, and the rest of
    them know we're on their trail.
        And we are making progress because we have a great United States
    military. I want to thank those who wear the uniform who are here. I
    want to thank the military families who are here. And I want to thank
    the veterans who have set such a great example for those who wear the
    uniform. And I want to assure you, we will keep our commitment that I
    have made to our troops and to their families.
        That's why in September of 2003, I went to the United States
    Congress and asked for $87 billion of important supplemental funding.
    That's money that went to our troops in combat in Iraq and in
    Afghanistan. It was important, really important. My opponent, on national TV, said prior to that vote, ``It would
    be irresponsible to vote against funding for the troops.'' And then he
    started to go down in the polls, and he voted against funding for our
    troops.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. And then he entered the
    flip-flop hall of fame by saying this: ``I actually did vote for the 87
    billion, right before I voted against it.'' I haven't spent a lot of
    time in the coffee shops around here, but I bet you a lot of people
    don't talk that way. [Laughter]
        They kept pressing him. He's given a lot
    of explanations about the 87--voting against the 87 billion, but I think
    the most revealing of all was when he said, ``The whole thing was a
    complicated matter.'' My fellow Americans, there is nothing complicated
    about supporting our troops in combat.
        The problem with Senator Kerry's record on
    national security are deeper than election-year reversals. Twenty
    years--for 20 years, on the largest national security issues of the
    time, he has been consistently wrong. During the cold war, Senator Kerry
    was critical, was against President Ronald Reagan's policy of peace
    through strength. Well, history has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong
    and President Ronald Reagan was right.
        When former President Bush assembled an
    international coalition to drive Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, Senator Kerry
    voted against the use of force to liberate Kuwait. History has shown
    that Senator Kerry was wrong and former President Bush was right.

    [[Page 2899]]

        One year after the bombing of--the first bombing of the World Trade
    Center, the Senator proposed massive cuts in
    our intelligence budgets, so massive that his colleague from
    Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy, opposed them.
    Well, history has shown that Senator Kerry was wrong--and we've got to
    be fair about it--Senator Kennedy was right. [Laughter]
        During our debates, it became clear we have a different attitude
    about how to protect American families. He said America must pass a
    ``global test'' before we commit force. I'm not making that up. I heard
    it, and so did you. As far as I can tell, a ``global test'' means that
    America must get permission to defend ourselves. I will build on our
    alliance. I will strengthen our relationships overseas, but I will never
    turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of other
    countries.
        We have a different point of view about how to protect our families.
    My opponent said that September the 11th
    didn't change him much at all. Well, September the 11th changed me. It
    changed my outlook. Perhaps the best way to describe to you about how I
    feel is that experience I had at the Twin Towers on September the 14th,
    2001, in the rubble. And I remember the workers in hardhats yelling at
    me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' I remember the
    person coming out of that rubble, and he grabbed me by arm. He looked me
    square in the eye, and he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since that
    day, I wake up every morning trying to figure out how to better protect
    our families and our country. I will never relent in defending America,
    whatever it takes.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. We will use every asset at our disposal to protect
    you. We will wage a comprehensive strategy to defend our country. And
    perhaps the most powerful asset we have is freedom. I believe in the
    power of liberty to transform societies. I know that free nations do not
    breed resentments and export terror. Free nations become allies in the
    war on terror. Freedom will help us keep the peace we want for our
    children and our grandchildren.
        I want the younger folks here to remember and think about what has
    taken place in a quick period of time. It wasn't all that long ago in
    Afghanistan that young girls could not go to school, and if their
    mothers didn't toe the line of the ideologues of hate that ran that
    country, they would be taken into the public square and whipped and
    sometimes shot in a sports stadium. But because we acted in our own
    self-defense, because we upheld a doctrine that said, ``If you harbor a
    terrorist, you're equally as guilty as the terrorist,'' millions of
    people in Afghanistan voted for a President. And the first voter was a
    19-year-old woman. Freedom can change
    societies for the better.
        Iraq is dangerous. It is dangerous because that society is heading
    toward democracy. Think how far that society has come from the days of
    torture chambers and mass graves. There will be Presidential elections
    in January. I believe every soul desires to be free. Freedom is not
    America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each
    man and woman in this world.
        These are historic times, and there is a lot at stake in this
    election. The future safety and prosperity of this country are on the
    ballot. Ultimately, though, this election comes down to who do you
    trust--who do you trust to make the tough decisions? Who do you trust to
    lead this country to a better tomorrow?
        If you believe that taxes should stay low so families can pay your
    bills and small businesses create jobs, I ask you to come stand with me.
        If you believe in high standards for our public schools, I ask you
    to come stand with me.
        If you believe patients and doctors should be in charge of the
    health care, I ask you to come stand with me.

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        If you believe this Nation must honor the commitments of Medicare
    and strengthen Social Security for generations to come, I ask you to
    come stand with me.
        If you believe that this Nation should honor marriage and family and
    make a place for the weak and the vulnerable, I ask you to come stand
    with me.
        If you believe America should fight the war on terror with all our
    might and lead with unwavering confidence in our ideals, I ask you to
    come stand with me.
        If you are a Democrat who believes your party has turned too far to
    the left this year, I ask you to come stand with me.
        If you are a minority citizen and you believe in free enterprise and
    good schools and the enduring values of family and faith, and if you're
    tired of your vote being taken for granted, I ask you to come stand with
    me.
        And if you're a voter who believes that the President of the United
    States should say what he means and does what he says and keeps his
    word, I ask you to come stand with me.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. Four years ago when I traveled across Ohio, I made a
    pledge that if I were to be elected, I would uphold the honor and the
    dignity of the office to which I had been elected. With your help, with
    your hard work, I will do so for 4 more years.
        On to victory. Thanks for coming. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:22 a.m. at Airborne Airpark. In his
    remarks, he referred to Shonda Schilling, wife of Curt Schilling,
    pitcher, Major League Baseball Boston Red Sox; and former President
    Saddam Hussein of Iraq. He also referred to the National Commission on
    Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission).